ISSUE

Spring 2015

Race and Reporting

The news industry has been talking about diversity for decades, but that talk has not always been followed by action. Though the percentage of minorities in the U.S. population continues to climb, few newsrooms have a racial makeup that reflects the communities they cover. In the Nieman Reports cover package, reporters and editors discuss strategies for creating more inclusive newsrooms and how racially diverse staffs can improve coverage.

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Articles

How Netflix Flipped the Script on Television's Disruption
Books

How Netflix Flipped the Script on Television’s Disruption

Media columnist Michael Wolff, who regularly excoriates the media’s reporting on itself, has turned his acerbic attention to TV. The death of television, he argues in his new book, has…
Michael Wolff
June 15, 2015
Public Radio and the Sound of America
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Public Radio and the Sound of America

When “Tell Me More,” NPR’s talk show about diversity, was canceled in 2014, NPR’s then-ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos observed that Latinos (16 percent of the U.S. population) hold only 5 percent…
Adriana Gallardo
June 11, 2015
Why Journalists Must Stop Segregating Stories About Race
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Why Journalists Must Stop Segregating Stories About Race

It’s tough to turn on a TV news report, pick up a newspaper or surf across a news website these days without seeing a story at least partially affected by…
Eric Deggans
June 11, 2015
Is Solutions Journalism the Solution?
Diversity in Journalism Features

Is Solutions Journalism the Solution?

New media ventures are focusing on what’s going right in the world rather than what’s going wrong
John Dyer
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Mainstream Media Needs More Native American Journalists

we don’t have a lot of Native American journalists at mainstream newspapers, and that’s a problem, especially because we may not be that large in number but the jurisdictional and…
Mary Hudetz
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Diversity Can Bring Communities Together

At the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, we launched a series of investigative reports about two and a half years ago looking at disparities in areas such as housing, education, criminal…
Karen Magnuson
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Having a Diverse Newsroom Makes Coverage Mainstream

One thing we do at BuzzFeed that works is hiring Hispanic writers. They don’t have to have a sort of Hispanic beat. David Noriega is a national reporter for us…
Adrian Carrasquillo
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Journalists Must Train Their Brains to See Beyond Stereotypes

The high-profile deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Freddie Gray have allowed us to train the spotlight on law enforcement and examine how police officers can be…
Dawn Turner
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Newsrooms Need to Engage if They Want to See Real Change

We’re currently caught in a period of time in this country where we seem to be in an almost perpetual state of conversation about issues of race, ethnicity, and diversity.…
Wesley Lowery
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Enhancing Newsroom Diversity Can Also Expand Audiences

Growing up Asian and Latina in a town that was nearly 90 percent white, it was only natural that I’d develop an appreciation for diversity. I didn’t see me anywhere,…
Ashley Alvarado
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Tribalism as a Spur to Newsroom Diversity

journalists might resist the designation, but we are tribal. As wedded as we are to our tribalism, our long days and bellyaching and gallows humor, this very tribalism is what…
Joshunda Sanders
June 11, 2015
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

If Truth and Credibility Matter, So Must Newsroom Diversity

Years ago, I was recruited from the University of Kansas for the copy desk by legendary Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and life-long diversity champion Acel Moore. In me, he landed the…
Sandra Clark
June 11, 2015
Capturing Quiet Acts of Resistance
Diversity Diversity in Journalism Visual Journalism

Capturing Quiet Acts of Resistance

My objective as a visual storyteller is to connect with individuals and families on an intimate level, especially if this leads to long-term trusted relationships. When collaborators find a level…
Zun Lee
June 11, 2015
Making Black Lives Matter in the News
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Making Black Lives Matter in the News

After unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer last summer in Ferguson, Missouri, a photo of Brown appearing to throw gang signs began…
Susan Smith Richardson
June 10, 2015
Why Newsroom Diversity Works
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Why Newsroom Diversity Works

The news industry has been talking about diversity for decades, but the talk, many say, often has not been followed by action. “The needles never really seem to move,” says…
Alicia W. Stewart
June 10, 2015
Risky, Important Conversations About Diversity in Our Newsrooms
Diversity in Journalism From the Curator

Risky, Important Conversations About Diversity in Our Newsrooms

Where Are the Women?”—last year’s cover story on the decline of women in senior journalism roles—did not lack for sources. Women were overwhelmingly willing to talk candidly about their careers…
Ann Marie Lipinski
June 10, 2015
Confronting Racism in the Age of Obama
Diversity Diversity in Journalism

Confronting Racism in the Age of Obama

I won’t be sad when another white family moves into the White House.If Hillary Clinton becomes the next president, after a few years, there might be plenty of women looking…
Issac J. Bailey
June 10, 2015
When Is it Ethical to Publish Stolen Data?
Watchdog

When Is it Ethical to Publish Stolen Data?

From the Pentagon Papers to Hollywood e-mails, reporters and editors face complex decisions when it comes to reporting on information from hackers and leakers
Helen Lewis
June 1, 2015
Tom Witosky, NF ’92, collaborated with another veteran sportswriter to chronicle the battle over same-sex marriage
Niemans @ Work

Tom Witosky, NF ’92, collaborated with another veteran sportswriter to chronicle the battle over same-sex marriage

The journey to write “Equal Before the Law: How Iowa Led Americans to Marriage Equality” began April 3, 2009, when the Iowa Supreme Court granted gays and lesbians the right…
Tom Witosky
May 27, 2015
Niemans @ Work

Alison MacAdam, NF ’14, helps NPR colleagues develop and share storytelling techniques

For 11 years, I worked somewhere famous.Now, I work somewhere virtually unknown.In January, I left “All Things Considered” (“ATC”)—seven months since my Nieman fellowship ended—to create a position at NPR’s…
Alison MacAdam
May 19, 2015
Richard Tofel on ProPublica's Mission-Driven Approach to Investigative Reporting
Live @ Lippmann

Richard Tofel on ProPublica’s Mission-Driven Approach to Investigative Reporting

Richard Tofel, president of ProPublica since 2013, joined the nonprofit investigative news organization as general manager at its founding in 2007. Two years after it started publishing, ProPublica’s Sheri Fink,…
Richard Tofel
May 14, 2015
Sounding

Hooked on the Power of Sound

When I hear the “All Things Considered” theme, I hear vegetables sizzling in a pan. I think about being 6 years old and playing with toys at the kitchen table…
Gabe Bullard
May 11, 2015
Greg Marinovich, NF ’14, joins with fellow photographers to showcase more of the images they create
Niemans @ Work

Greg Marinovich, NF ’14, joins with fellow photographers to showcase more of the images they create

Haiti’s Le Saut waterfall is an important religious site on the islandA couple years ago, just as I was starting my Nieman year, the “War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and…
Greg Marinovich
May 4, 2015